


Keeping Warm

by lambiris



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Best Friends Huening Kai & Kang Taehyun, Boys Kissing, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Out, OR IS HE, Pillow & Blanket Forts, but tyun isn't there, choi beomgyu is cold, feelings are already there, i dont know what i just wrote, improper use of semicolons, kai is scared of the dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25828981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lambiris/pseuds/lambiris
Summary: huening kai asks beomgyu to keep him company during a black out.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Huening Kai
Comments: 4
Kudos: 118





	Keeping Warm

**Author's Note:**

> just beomkai
> 
> -not very well edited

Beomgyu is woken up by an unknown force, body bound by an unknown creature in an unknown place at an unknown hour in the night. His blood pounds in his ears as he gasps and wriggles all his limbs—  _ good still all there _ — before clenching his abdominal muscles to sit himself up.

_ Knock, knock, knock _

The scream that leaves him is unmanly, it takes all of his will to not leap out of the top bunk and make a dash for the windows. The first jump would be harmless, the second would break his legs. Instead, he works at untangling himself; three more knocks in quick succession followed by an almost frantic twisting of the doorknob has him approaching the door with his torso still confined by blankets.

Not the smartest choice, but ‘smart’ and ‘choice’ don’t co-exist in the same sentence before he’s had two cups of black coffee in the morning. He entertains the idea of it being an intruder, but then again, what kind of intruder would knock?

A shiver travels from his legs up to his spine when his bare feet touch the frozen floor; it seems forgoing socks also wasn’t the best choice. He lets the bundled up blanket drape over his legs to provide him some warmth, shivering again from the cold breeze that comes with it. From his peripheral he spots a pair of fluffy bunny slippers strewn carelessly across the room; he debates whether or not to go for it when  _ yet again  _ there’s a series of knocks on his door.

He scowls, seethes when he grasps the doorknob— the coldest surface he’s touched yet— and yanks it open. 

“Who in the world—?!” he barely manages to pull back his punch (you know— just in case it was an intruder after all), gracelessly stumbling three steps backwards — tripping on his feet and would’ve surely met his end if not for the well-timed grip on his wrist.

“K-Kai?” he sputters out, jumping back a little (thankfully he doesn’t fall this time), face growing hot. 

The younger wears a look of mirrored surprise that slowly tense into downturned lines. Hair curtains halfway down his eyes, cheeks dusted pink and an oversized yellow hoodie hangs from his shoulders reminiscent of his smaller, younger self with how it reaches past mid-thigh. Molang is propped against his chest, his phone on the same hand and the other—

“Hyung,” Kai says, loosening his grip on Beomgyu’s wrist; Beomgyu takes it back and wrings it with his other hand, grasping at the quickly dissipating warmth. Kai’s gaze flicks towards the action, eyes narrowing before he continues, “The power is out.”

The statement bounces once, twice, three times inside Beomgyu’s head before everything slots into place. The darkness save for the ever-present cascades of moonlight through the window. And the cold—the  _ real _ intruder— that snuck into their dorms through the bottoms of their doors; the heater that's tasked to chase it away is rendered useless by the lack of electricity. An early Christmas present from mother nature. 

_ ‘But why?’ _

He pulls himself from his thoughts and stares— assesses the boy in front of him. Pursed lips, furrowed eyebrows and squinted eyes contrasted with the hunched shoulders, bent knees and curled toes so… He takes a wild guess.

“I don’t have it.”

Kai’s eyebrows narrow further, “What?”

Wrong guesstimate then. He’s not here for the plushie.

“Um..” Kai shifts uncomfortably underneath his scrutinization, looking like he’d rather be anywhere in the world than here. Beomgyu cranes his neck up, Kai ducks his head face turning from pink to red and refuses to meet his eyes. Molang’s eyes bulge out from how tightly he’s squeezing. His jaw clenches and unclenches from the effort of keeping the words sealed inside his mouth; Beomgyu grows impatient with the waiting.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” The question flies out before Beomgyu can give it a second thought, he has a weaker rein on his tongue and his brain-mouth filter isn’t exactly top notch. Nonetheless, it seemed to be the right words to say as evidenced by how the hard, tensed features smooth out into their natural curves. (Yes, a smile counts as natural with Kai).

“If you don’t mind,” Kai says, a lighter chirp in his tone, “we can stay in the living room.” 

Beomgyu raises an eyebrow in amusement, Soobin was the only one to ever receive such an invitation. He reciprocates the smile, “Sure,” and hands over the blanket he managed to unravel from himself during their conversation, “give me a sec.”

  
  
  


Turns out Kai has already made a —for lack of a better word—  _ fortress  _ out of their living room. Three chairs in a triangle forms the base; spread on top of it is a huge white sheet that serves as the roof, held in place by textbooks on the seats of the two opposing chairs. Plushies: kittens, bunnies, molangs galore littered the space underneath it, meticulously arranged on top of a red, fluffy blanket. 

In the middle of it all sits Kai, there’s an array of flashlights by his feet, all lit up to their maximum brightness. ' _ The boy himself shines the brightest _ ,' Beomgyu muses before tossing a plushie towards Kai’s general direction; a forgotten hostage that he found squished in between the wall and Soobin’s mattress whilst committing blanket theft.

Kai startles, dropping the light purple candles he's been eyeing in a heap, “You had Pineapple with you?!” he shrieks indignantly; it’s such a contrast to the person who stood in front of his door earlier. He pats the plushie, turning it in all directions in a visual search for injury.

Beomgyu drops his belongings at the ‘entrance’ of the fort and crawls inside, it’s surprisingly spacious, far comfier than his bed.  _ Homey _ . Alluding warmth though isn’t really there. Beomgyu makes himself at home, showing no remorse for the dolls, throwing himself on the pile. Feels like heaven.

Kai studies him, eyes half-lidded and lips jutted out in a pout. It was Beomgyu’s turn to writhe uncomfortably under the attention.

“What?”

“You look cute, hyung,” Kai says without missing a beat.

His heart  _ skips _ a beat. Certainly not the answer he was expecting. Beomgyu pulls his knees to his chest as though to muffle the loud, heavy beating within, cheeks warming up.

“I’m always cute,” he mumbles, voice lacking the usual intensity that comes with Choi Beomgyu. He tugs at his bangs, the lack of sleep and cold was really getting to him. His eyes flicker from his now socked feet to Kai, stealing glances then reasoning that it should be free.

Kai hums, tapping a finger on his lips thoughtfully. He catches Beomgyu staring at him and winks, “I’m cuter.” 

Beomgyu lets out a huff that boils into a giggle at the bold proclamation (sleep is very much needed as you can see). It’s just so  _ Huening Kai  _ of him to say that; the face he pulls at the end also contributes to the humor. Kai flashes him a grin; it’s scintillating.

A comfortable silence washes over them, calm like the sleeping lake. But between the both of them, arguably the loudest members of their group, it isn’t long before a group of kids take turns to skip rocks on the water, disturbing the quiet.

Maybe just one kid. Or two.

“How long has the power been out?” Beomgyu asks, scrolling through his phone. It’s only been minutes since Kai came to him yet tweets about the blackout go back to thirty minutes and longer.

“Half an hour or so,” Kai says with an attempt at nonchalance, Beomgyu doesn’t miss it, eyes flickering away from his phone; he crawls closer and waits.

Kai doesn’t notice him, gaze unfocused and distant. The screen illuminates his face, casting shadows away, “I tried to— you know…” he throws his arms open, gesturing to the fort around them. Teeth latches on his bottom lip, “Build? Make it—” 

“It’s okay,” Beomgyu says, wrapping his fingers around Kai’s wrist. “It’s fine," he wanders further, "I don’t mind,” and links their fingers together, palm pressing against the back of Kai's hand; each word comes out in gentle whispers but in the silence of winter— it was enough.

Kai covers Beomgyu’s hand with his, a pulsing heat to the touch, “Thanks, hyung.”

It’s not so much a fear of the dark than it is a fear of being alone. It’s something that they figured out over the years because the kid may be touchy-feely but he’s not the best with words. It’s one of the many nicks they learned about each other over the years of living together under one roof. 

They’re both pulled back to reality by the vibration of Kai’s phone, the younger untangles their hands and rapidly types out a reply to whoever he’s texting. Beomgyu watches in fascination as a smile blooms on Kai’s face, the same blush that he’s witnessed multiple times this night creeping up his cheeks.

“Oh~” Beomgyu starts, leaning onto Kai’s shoulder, “Is Hueningie texting someone?” each word comes out in a drawl as he ‘sneakily’ reached for the phone. Kai puts his arm up, keeping the device away from Beomgyu’s range.

“It’s just Taehyunnie,” Kai mumbles, turning away from Beomgyu and typing out another reply. Beomgyu flops unceremoniously on the blanket, jaw caught by a dolphin plushie.

“Since when did you and Taehyun—” Beomgyu cuts himself off, shaking his head, “Since when did  _ you  _ text?” he makes sure to sharpen the edge with an accusatory tone. Kai only spares him a hum in favor of his phone.

Beomgyu scowls, sitting up and pulling the dolphin plushie into his lap; he embraces it, blatantly ignoring the fact that it lacks the warmth that he seeks. He bores holes into Kai’s back, wondering if he stared hard enough— the boy would pay attention to him again.

It’s curious really, how fast Kai’s attention was diverted. Only a few moments earlier they were… they were whatever. Point is he finally got to have the younger’s attention on him for once (and without having to take hostage some plushies at that) and it was  _ stolen  _ from him, just like that, like a rug was swept under his feet. There’s a achingly familiar feeling settling in his chest, nesting in the space between his lungs; making itself home just as how Beomgyu did with their— Kai’s blanket fort. It’s unpleasant, and with each passing instant, it festers, doubling, tripling its size. He can’t quite place a name on it, all he knows is that it isn’t the first time he’s felt it and somehow every time it does— it’s always when Kai is around.

(There’s a number of foreign feelings he feels around the younger but this one seems to be the most prevalent— only next to the sensation of butterflies performing rituals inside his stomach)

A few minutes pass and without another person to bounce energy off of, sleep peeks from the corners of his vision, dancing in the form of invisible shadows on the yellow of Kai’s hoodie, tempting him to come closer— to succumb.

And what fight could a sleepy, touch starved, cold Choi Beomgyu possibly put up? 

Exactly. Nothing.

So he lets himself be led, like a sailor to a siren’s song, by his body and mind’s combined desire, throwing out all sense of self-preservation out of the window; surely his future self could go pick it up tomorrow. For now though:

“Hyung, what are you doing?” Kai tenses underneath his embrace, underneath the two arms that barely manage to wrap themselves around his torso. Has he shrunk?— No, it's Kai who's gotten bigger. He grew each inch right in front of Beomgyu's eyes, yet each time he stretches his limbs to reach him, has to crane his neck to look at him— Beomgyu is hit with reality every single time.

The effect was instantaneous, Beomgyu wonders why he didn’t just hog the maknae as soon as he saw him. Heat. Kai had lots of it; burning under his skin, through his clothes and Beomgyu was the happy recipient. He presses a cold cheek against the soft material and sighs at the warmth he receives, turning on the other cheek so it warms up nicely as well. It’s different from the heat that crept up his cheeks, an outside force, physical contact.

“Hyung,” Kai prompts again, Beomgyu can hear the uncertainty in his voice; he doesn’t bother relieving it, it’d be hypocritical of him to do so, seeing as he himself was running on instincts. Plus, he didn’t really want to deal with the gravity of what he’s just done, the line he’s just crossed. Because, despite how crackheaded the maknae may act— Beomgyu knew he wasn’t alone in this silly game of tiptoeing around one another. Kai’s hesitance with inviting him earlier was, after all, not unfounded.

(He wouldn’t have hesitated with Yeonjun or Taehyun, he’d probably throw himself on Soobin’s bed without asking for permission).

Yet for some reason Beomgyu was different.

(He sincerely hopes that it's the good kind of different.)

“‘M cold,” it’s muffled, his lips being pressed against Kai’s back. The younger sighs and gently detaches his arms. For a split second Beomgyu panics, the feeling in his chest converted into fear, thoughts rapidly flying in his head. But then he’s hoisted up the ground, surprise ensuring each word of doubt remains unspoken, and placed onto somewhere warm, something—

He can only stare, mouth agape as the flash of Kai’s phone momentarily renders him blind. But then he’s reminded of the fact that there’s nothing brighter than Kai’s existence; it all comes to him at one— the lines and angles and curves and pale skin, the pink lips and sparkling eyes and the messy hair that frames everything— so close,  _ too _ close.

Kai chuckles, lips tugging upward, “This is why I didn’t want to call you out here, hyung.” 

It takes another minute for Beomgyu to register the position he was in; laid across Kai’s lap, head supported by the maknae’s arm, cradled like a baby, pressed against a broad chest and— the warmest he's been all night. (The butterflies are doing their rituals again). He doesn’t resist, doesn’t struggle or seek freedom from this weird tangle of limbs. He’s the one who sought this out. And he highly doubts that he’ll be able to escape, Kai didn’t just grow bigger, he’s gotten stronger as well. (Much to their dismay, it's harder to tease the maknae when said maknae can easily sling you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes).

“But you did,” Beomgyu lamely states, it falls flat, he wants to punch himself for even opening his mouth at all.

“And good thing I did, huh? Beomgyu-hyung might’ve frozen in there!” Kai teases, cries out when Beomgyu pinches his neck. Kai responds by digging his hand on Beomgyu’s sides and soon enough they were rolling across the blanket, knocking over the carefully placed plushies in pursuit of giving a barrage of tickles to one another.

The festering storm of unknown feelings inside Beomgyu’s chest is dispersed, replaced by the lightness and familiarity that comes with their banter. It’s so easy to fall back into the rhythm of playful jabs at each other, all fragility broken. 

But perhaps, he spoke too soon.

“Gotcha!” Kai exclaims, knocking their knees together, locking Beomgyu down by his wrists. Beomgyu laughs as Kai mercilessly assaults his stomach with deft fingers. A minute goes by, then another and another— three minutes pass by before Kai relents, cutting Beomgyu some slack. The tense curve of Beomgyu’s spine relaxes as he gathers his breath, a few stray giggles escaping.

“I’ll get you back for that you—” the already sparse air is punched out of Beomgyu’s lungs. Kai looks…  _ ethereal  _ above him. Chocolate brown eyes bore into his, a little scared but unwavering, reddening cheeks and lips that were slightly parted to take in air. Kai’s gaze alternate from his eyes, to his lips— and Beomgyu grows sure that he’s not the only one who wants this. Not the only one who abstained from this. 

In the middle of bickering and silent ways of expressing their care for another— they bloomed something more than friendship. 

The distance between them is slowly eaten up as they gravitate closer and closer, drawn to each other like they always have— but this time there’s nothing stopping them. No watchful eyes or fearful thoughts or hard set rules. None of it seemed to matter, the only promise kept was the promise between pink lips seeking another to rest on to.

Then, like a switch was flipped, Kai’s eyes blow wide open, determined spark fading with it. His grip on Beomgyu loosens and he’s pulling off him, “Sorr—”

Beomgyu growls and tackles him down, not letting the apology slide off his tongue. It’s been long enough. They’ve danced around each other too much already. There was no way he was going to let this opportunity go.  _ Just one night _ . Let him have what he wants, what’s forbidden and he’ll walk away a happy man. Or just a man with a smile in place, the camera in none the wiser.

And he does. He takes.

Kai’s lips are softer than he imagined. Softer than any of the girls’ he’s hastily kissed back in middle school. And they pulsate the same warmth he’s come to associate with Kai just moments earlier, warmer— hot. It takes an agonizing second but Kai finally,  _ finally  _ presses back, kisses him back, easing the desire in Beomgyu’s heart then blowing the flame— feeding it, making it grow.

The peck dissolves into traced lips and open mouths, Kai surprises Beomgyu with how he takes the lead, like he knows what to do. And Beomgyu— he lets him, as with Kai’s warmth, Beomgyu is an eager receiver of whatever Kai has to offer. He twists his fingers on the younger’s hair, tugging at the healthy locks, they’re soft— everything about Kai is soft.

And it seems like Kai is determined to disprove that last statement. He sits them both up, startling Beomgyu, without breaking the kiss. He snakes his arms around the older’s waist, pulling him impossibly close. Beomgyu’s hands fall from Kai’s hair and settle on his shoulders, around his neck, mimicking Kai.

They both pull away for a few seconds, staring at each other as they catch their breath before they’re diving closer again, hungry for another taste. They dance to a rhythm they’ve set for themselves, hard and fast— impatient, noises swallowed as soon as they were set free. It’s mostly Beomgyu— ever the noisy one— but it’s not his fault Kai is such a good kisser, devouring every inch of him and looking for more.

It eventually devolves into something slower, more sensual as tire catches up to them. Hands roam around, seeking touch but never under, there’ll be another time for that, he hopes. If it was up to Beomgyu, he’d rather them never pull apart, afraid of what it’s there waiting for them. But they’re only human and just like a few moments ago, they’re staring at each other, out of breath,  _ wanting  _ and cheeks flushed with satisfaction in place of desire.

Beomgyu rests his head on Kai’s chest, listening to the rapid heartbeat matching his own. They fall silent, afraid of the words that will eventually have to be spoken.

_ It’s our choice, _ Beomgyu reminds himself,  _ of what words will be said and what will remain unspoken. _ They have the freedom to get up right now and forget about the events that just transpired, continuing on with none the wiser. It can be left a treasured memory that’ll be jaded into a fleeting fantasy over the course of time if they choose as such. They can chalk it up to impulse and blind desire fueled by hormones and depravity of intimate contact. They can… They can.

Beomgyu’s tired of running away.

“Where did you… Where did you learn to kiss like that?” Beomgyu asks in between breath, face still buried on the other’s chest.

“Why? Was I that good?” comes the teasing lilt from Kai, Beomgyu bites him.

Kai lets out an ear piercing shriek and loses balance on his arms, he thuds on the blanketed floor, Beomgyu above him. The latter makes a move to get off but Kai wraps his arm around his waist, securing him in place. His heart picks up the pace again, Kai’s own echoing in between beats.

“I had practice,” Kai starts, Beomgyu registers Kai’s hands sifting through his hair, “lots of it.” 

Beomgyu only hums, half drained by the recent activities and half not wanting to know who else Kai has gone around kissing aside from him. 

“You’re not gonna ask who?” Kai voices it out for him.

“I’on wanna know,” Beomgyu admits, words slurring past his tongue. Kai’s chest vibrates with laughter, it sounds nice. Far nicer than the conversation they were having. Beomgyu himself brought it up, but he’d rather put Kai’s lips to other use, after all, there was no definitive tell that there’ll be more nights like this.

“It isn’t really a ‘who’,” Kai continues, Beomgyu perks up that, “we just used our hands and sometimes fruits.” 

“What?” 

Kai shrugs, “Try having Taehyun as a best friend.”

Beomgyu pushes himself up so that he was straddling the other, Kai looks up at him with amusement glinting in his eyes, hair tousled and lips bright red and swollen.

“I mean… why?” 

“Again, Taehyun.” Kai says as though their team member’s name could explain everything. Beomgyu admits that the other maknae had an insatiable curiosity (and the drive to satisfy it somewhat) but he never thought that Kai would have been involved. It seems that there’s a lot of things being unraveled this night.

“And you agreed to it?” The ridicule was obvious in his tone.

Kai smirked up at him, “Well it paid back, didn’t it?” he says, bringing up one of his hands to run along the collar of Beomgyu’s shirt. “And besides,” he tugs Beomgyu downwards, “I don’t need to do that anymore, do I?” 

Beomgyu lets out a shaky chuckle, there was still much more he wanted to ask about the maknaes’ ‘adventures’ behind their backs but the bait dangling in front of him was much more enticing than the promise of information. His answer comes in the form of a kiss which Kai immediately reciprocates; their lips mold around each other’s, much smoother than the first time around.

They get lost, intoxicated. Sweat drips from every single one of Beomgyu’s pores, seeking to ease the fire that licked on his skin. This was a privilege, a luxury; one that neither of them were eager to let go of. When they open their eyes, lights floods through the room. Beomgyu squints at the sudden influx of artificial light yet Kai didn’t so much as blink, eyes trained on Beomgyu’s face.

“Hey Gyu,” he begins, Beomgyu raises an eyebrow at the lack of honorifics, Kai raises an eyebrow back as though daring Beomgyu to correct him, “What happens now?”

It’s a question that he’s dreaded the moment he chose to give in to his instincts, because even though they were sure that the feelings were mutual, (at least, that’s what he’s concluded from the fiery make out session— two) the fact that they were idols and had a reputation to uphold lingers in the air and will most likely not be disappearing any time soon. 

“I don’t know.” he answers, sighing, running a hand through his hair and tapping Kai’s cheek with the other.

“We’ll talk,” he says, biting his lip, “not right now. But we will.” 

The answer seems to satisfy Kai as he nods and motions for Beomgyu to lay down next to him, “Okay.”

Beomgyu follows, settling himself against Kai, searching for warmth even though he’s thoroughly scorched. They’re breathing in each other’s spaces again, eyes never breaking contact, limbs tangled in a familiarity that wasn’t present when the night had still been young. Words are exchanged in no louder than a whisper even though they were alone, as though they were hiding from the world. And in a sense they were, hiding from the world, that is.

Eventually, Beomgyu slows in his responses as he was yet again teetering at the edge of his unconscious, Kai’s voice was just as much of a perpetrator in lulling him to sleep.

“Should I turn off the lights?” Kai asks when he notices Beomgu has dozed off.

“Aren’t you going to be scared?” Beomgyu asks, blearily opening one eye.

“Not when I’m with you.”

Taehyun’s definitely getting interrogated tomorrow, there was no doubt that he was the one responsible for ‘smooth talking’ being added to Kai’s already vast skill set.

“Idiot,” It's a weak bite, but he had no more brain energy to form an appropriate response. 

“Your idiot.”

Electric chair. Definitely. 

“Just go to sleep.”

And they do, wrapped in each other’s limbs, keeping warm.


End file.
